Mahatma Gandhi's teachings against untouchability and women empowerment were the central theme of the 18th edition of Lalit Arpan Festival here.
Organised by Asavari Institute of Kathak ahead of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the two-day dance-drama festival saw Kathak performances at the Stein Auditorium here on Monday.
The evening opened with a tribute to Gandhi with excerpts from two productions, "Mohan and Rambha" (1994) and "Sanmati" (1997) by Padma Shri awardee Shovana Narayan.
Upcoming Kathak artiste Komal Biswal opened the act in "asht mangal taal" with "Koham" (Who am I), the depiction of a woman in her different forms, from taking care of a household as a mother to taking the persona of "Shakti" to strike down her enemies.
It was followed by a performance by Narayan and her group enacting "Rashmirathi", the timeless classic by Hindi poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, commemorating the poet's 111th birth year.
The famous poem unravels warrior Karna's side of story, about how he was treated as a pariah because of his lower caste and his interaction with Krishna who tries to persuade him to join the Pandava's side.
"This ballet essayed the story of Karna whom Kunti entreated not to fight his half-brothers, the Pandavas. Karna displayed immense strength of character and spirit of forgiveness when he gave up his life so that Kunti could still be a mother to five Pandavas," Narayan told PTI.
She added that the depiction echoed Mahatma Gandhi's view that "the weak can never forgive; forgiveness is the attribute of the strong".
A dance ballet, titled "Swachh Bharat", based on Gandhi's teachings about cleanliness, by Kathak group, and a dance performance by Afsar Mulla and Ishita Parbat on Dinkar's "Purush Priya" are on the schedule for Tuesday.
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